It’s playoff time!
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The NBA Playoffs are here! First round matchups are set for the 3-6 seeds in each conference while the top teams await the results of the Play-In Tournament. Let’s see who the fans are picking to win each matchup, starting with our teams who are still fighting for an official playoff berth.
The Orlando Magic and Miami Heat are favorites to win playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. Orlando has already secured their end of the deal with an encouraging win over the Atlanta Hawks. They’ll now face the Boston Celtics, where they hold +2000 odds to win the series as vast underdogs.
Miami will play the Chicago Bulls in the 9-10 game tonight. The Bulls are slight favorites at -116. The winner will play the Hawks for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Fans had immense faith in the Golden State Warriors breaking out of the Play-In Tournament, with a whopping 93% picking them to win. The Dubs made them all happy in a thrilling win against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Golden State enters their matchup with the second-seeded Houston Rockets as -188 underdogs. Their experience and top-end star power give Golden State a chance to shock a younger Rockets team.
The Memphis Grizzlies were the clear second favorite to win the Play-In. No one seems overly optimistic about the Luka Doncic-less Dallas Mavericks. Sorry, Mavs fans.
Now let’s talk about the official playoff matchups.
Fans are almost evenly split on this 4-5 matchup between the Milwaukee Bucks and Indiana Pacers. The Bucks will be without Damian Lillard for at least the first game of the series and could potentially be without him for the entire run. Lillard was diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis in March and has no clear timetable to return. Though, reports suggest he’s trending in the right direction.
Lillard’s status for this matchup would change everything. As of now, it makes sense that this series is looking like a toss-up. FanDuel is favoring the Pacers a bit more with -215 odds to win.
The Knicks hold a comfortable lead in the fan poll for their matchup with the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons have been an inspiring story all season long but their supporting cast might struggle to provide Cade Cunningham with enough offensive firepower to keep up with New York’s starting five.
FanDuel has New York as -430 favorites to win this series. That’s the highest of any team that isn’t facing a Play-In opponent.
This Western Conference battle might be the hardest to predict. Will Kawhi Leonard be healthy? Who can possibly say? All we know is the LA Clippers have little chance of winning a series without him.
As for the Denver Nuggets, Nikola Jokic can seemingly do all things. But can he single-handedly carry them over a defensively stout Clippers squad? Additional support from Jamal Murray might be necessary.
Because this series has so many x-factors, it’s no surprise the fans are split 52/48 on who will win. FanDuel has the Nuggets as +100 underdogs.
And, there it is. An NBA survey wouldn’t be complete without a little Los Angeles Lakers’ bias. Fans are picking the Lakers as the overwhelming favorite to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves.
This feels skewed considering the talent level of both squads. Anthony Edwards is a bona fide star and the Wolves’ defense can pose a formidable challenge for anyone. That said, LeBron James and Luka Doncic haven’t found many defenses that can stop them.
I’d imagine this series will be more competitive than the fans think. FanDuel agrees with the Lakers as -196 favorites to win the series.